An Insider Just Teased Something TERRIFYING...

On Tuesday night, ESPN's Kevin Weeks reported that Matvei Michkov would likely want a new start elsewhere. And on Wednesday, his GM Danny Breer said, this is all news to me. His coach said, that's not true. And Michkov asked if he was happy in Philadelphia. He said, yes, of course. Case closed? Not quite. Because listen to exactly what the GM denied and what he didn't. Because if this rumor is as dead as everyone says, there's a 21-year-old with 10 goals in 20 games who may be about to hit the market, and the Wilds are 13-3-4, still looking for reinforcements. Here is the report. From multiple league sources, Kevin Weeks said Matthew Mitch Club would likely want a new start elsewhere, and called him a prime trade candidate. And if you want to see where this goes before the deadline even gets started in a couple months time, be sure to drop a sub here on the channel and give the video a like, help us reach our sub goal, while also making sure that we're getting the biggest wild community on YouTube. Likely want, not formally asked, that's the report about what he wants, not a letter on the desk of Danny Breer just yet. Now with what Danny Breer had said, he said no, that's not the plan at all. We've never discussed that. That's the plan. What he said about the Flyers having a formal trade request from his agent is the same. They haven't gotten one. Notice what's missing though. Nobody said he told us he wants to stay. Nobody said he's happy that we've spoken. He's happy we talked. The denial covers the request, not the plan, not what he's thinking. Even his coach, Rick Tockett, who said it's not true, Wasn't asked whether Michkov is frustrated, he was asked about the report. And Michkov himself said yes, of course. He also said he hadn't read it. That's a player who has no reason to say anything else at the moment. And listen to how Daniel Breer talked about him. I've really been happy with how he's played this year. He also said, he's got so much ahead of him that we're all really excited about. That's a GM talking about the future of the player. It's also exactly what you'd say if you wanted all of this conversation to go away. And then the line that matters is, Matt Vey is developing, he's far from a finished product. Far from a finished product at 21 years old with 181 NHL games behind him. Hold that thought, because that's exactly why the Wild should care. So why would anybody believe this? Because in Monday, where we had to start the night in Vancouver, in a 3-1 Flyers win, Michkov and defenseman Nick Seeler were added on the bench, and Porter Mortone had to step in and separate them. In Danny Breer's take, he said he likes that his guys are fiery, but he also said the team has not performed well, and the Flyers are 5-10-5, the worst record in the East by points percentage. Now look at the minutes, as a rookie in 24-25, Mishkov averaged 16 minutes and 41 seconds a game, and last season, 14 minutes and 50 seconds, this season, 15 minutes and 54 seconds. He's played 20 games this season, and he's scored 10 goals. It's a 42 goal pace, and he's tied in the team lead with points with Trevor Zegers at 14. He is still 6th among flyers forwards in ice time. And this is not a new situation. In February, Rick Tockett said Matvei Mishkov did not come into camp in shape, and Mishkov played a season-low 10 minutes and 21 seconds in an overtime loss to the Kings. In the playoffs, he averaged 10 minutes and 5 seconds through 4 games, and he was scratched for Game 5. When somebody says he'd like a fresh start, it doesn't sound crazy. It sounds like a guy who scores, but just doesn't play. And this isn't the first time the bench has had a problem. In December, he had an argument with Rick Tockett and his assistants, and Tockett downplayed it. Earlier than that, he'd already been a healthy scratch under Rick Tockett's predecessor, John Tortorella. So if we put it together, a scratch, an argument with the coach, A season-low 10 minutes and 21 seconds, a playoff scratch, a fight from the bench, that's a pattern a report is built from, and we're ultimately leading to where we are today. So what would the Minnesota Wilds actually be buying? We have to start with the shot, because Michkov has scored 10 goals on 29 shots this season. That's a 34.5 shooting percentage. In his first two seasons, he shot 13.1% as a rookie, and 12.3% last year. No, nobody on their third of their shots is scoring in 82 games. But here's the part nobody is talking about. He's not shooting more, he's shooting less. And as a rookie, he took 2.49 shots a game. Last year, 2.01 shots a game. And this year, 1.45. And a lot of that can be attributed to the Flyers not being a great team. But he's the same player, he's the same talent. About 40% shots fewer than a rookie in his rookie season. We look at that with the ice time, you get the same story. The kid's getting less of the puck. That's the pitch to a new team. Not that he's a 40 goal guy, but that he's a guy whose usage has fallen while the production has not. And keep this in mind too, because he has never had a bad year. As a rookie, he finished 4th in Calder voting with 26 goals and 63 points. Then came a little bit of a dip, 51 points last season, and a coach who said publicly that he didn't come into campus shape. For a lot of players, that ends the story, but Mitchkov scored 10 goals in his first 20 games anyways. He was also on the ice for more bad hockey than good. His plus minus is 11, worst on the Flyers, and you can read that two ways. He's either a problem on defense, or the team around him is. And the Flyers are 5, 10, and 5, so that doesn't help anyways, but when a team is that far under, a player who wants to win and doesn't get the minutes is Is going to say something on the bench to anybody at any point. And the clock is the real story, Michkov is in the final year of his three year entry level deal, that means he'll be a restricted free agent this summer, and he's eligible for an offer sheet, and no extension talks have happened yet. Now remember this feels familiar, because in February Danny Breyer said Matthew Michkov is not going anywhere, that was 9 minutes ago before any of this, and they were still saying that he wants to stay. Denials are cheap in November, but contracts are not cheap in July. And this is where the Minnesota Wild come in, and I want to be clear here. This is a very interesting fit because of the Russian talent that this team has on their lineup and the connection that these guys have. And I want to discuss this with you. And here's the big thing about winning teams, that they don't feel like they have a hole until a star hits the market. And the thing about the Minnesota Wild is they're 13-3-4, 30 points first in the Central. And their best player, Kirill Kaprizov, is 29 years old. And a team in this window does not want to rental. It wants the next player. And look who's shaking up the league right now. Nikita Kucherov, who's 33, asked Tampa for a trade on October 30th. And the hockey news pointed out that Matvey Mishkov plays Kucherov's position with near identical style. And if we compare them at the same stage, Mishkov's first NHL season, he had 63 points in 80 games. .79 points a game, and Kucherov's first season he had 18 points in 52 games, which is .35 a game. Kucherov caught up at 21, 65 points in 82 games, which is .79. Michkov is 21 at .07 so far, 14 in 20. Now if we look at the costs, the Wilds have already given up their 2027, 2028, and 2029 second round picks, but they still hold their own firsts from 2027 through 2030. And they've done business with Philadelphia before, they got Bobby Brink from the Flyers at the deadline for David Yeracek. And the cap can certainly be a wall, you'd have to keep an eye on what he would be asking for when it does come down to a free agency, and when he would be a restricted free agent, the Wilds would have to work around what they have, especially with Quinn Hughes. But the idea is pretty simple, get a 21 year old who scores like this, who Maybe want to walk out through those doors in Philadelphia and let him grow next to Kaprizov, next to Yurov, next to Shabanov, next to all of these guys who he has chemistry with instead of waiting for the next star to age out and then go and find a new one. So is he a younger Kutrov? No, not yet. I think that's pretty easy to say, but he could be on pace to be one. He's the only one in the story who has two years of rookie ice time to prove it. Think about how this works for for Philadelphia too. Mishkov is a restricted free agent. Whoever gets him has to be ready to pay him this summer. So the Wild wouldn't be buying a rental. They'd be buying the rights to a 22-year-old for multiple years in his prime. And at 21 years old, he's still younger than almost anyone the Wild can trade for. Kaprizov came into the NHL when he was 24 years old. Now he's 29. And that's the cold math. Kaprizov is carrying the teams in his prime. Mishkov could be carrying it when Kaprizov is 33 in about four years time. Now look at what the Wild do. Right, in their last three games, they scored nine goals. Four against San Jose, three against Tampa, and two against Montreal. They've won two of three, the loss was four to three to Tampa, a team that's good enough to hurt a goalie, and not deep enough to do it every night. That's for a guy who shoots like Michkov, who can run a power play from the half while Fitz. So a timeline to watch now is over the next couple of weeks to see if Michkov gets in another incident with the Flyers bench, or coaching staff, and to see what any other comments do that do come out. Between now and the deadline, the question isn't whether the Flyers want to trade Mischkov, it's whether they can afford to lose a 21-year-old who scores like this for nothing in July. Because here's what the denial really is. They aren't saying he can't be moved. They're saying nobody has asked yet. And the Flyers say they're not trading him, but I say they haven't said they won't. Should the Minnesota Wild call the Flyers? Comment Mischkov if you want to trade for him, or pass if you don't.